


The Night You Escaped

by ikuzonos



Series: The Friends We Used to Know [8]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Multi, NDRV3 Spoilers, hurt little comfort, i cried a lot while writing this and i'm really sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 12:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9820925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikuzonos/pseuds/ikuzonos
Summary: Saihara dreams of sirens, fire, and screaming, and he doesn’t know if they’re fueled more by the shit that he’s lived through, or the borderline hallucinogenic drugs in his bloodstream.People change, but none of them want to accept that.[Major Endgame NDRV3 Spoilers]





	

“I should have remembered to block,” Himiko mutters, “I’ve always had bad special defence.”

Himiko is set up in the first aid room, sitting drowsily on a wooden stool. Tenko’s strength had weakened during her time in the simulation, so it hadn’t even been enough to give Himiko a black eye. Still, the bruise on her face is dark, and looks painful.

Saihara awkwardly hovers in the corner of the room, while one of the doctors passes Himiko a pack of ice. The redhead holds it mindlessly for a couple seconds, then presses it to her face. She seems dazed, but according to the doctor, she doesn’t have a concussion.

The door violently slams open, and Angie wheels in, alarm in her eyes, “Himiko! Are you okay?”

Himiko groans, and Angie wheels her way over, gently taking Himiko’s free hand in her own, “Who did this to you?” Angie whispers, “Angie will make sure that Kami-san punishes them!”

“It was Chabashira-san,” Saihara says quietly. When Angie gives him a skeptical look, he adds, “She was allowed visitors earlier, so we went in to see her… and she punched Yumeno-san after we said hello.”

He expects for Angie not to believe him, but she clenches both her fists, and says, “Angie is going to give Tenko a piece of her mind! Nobody does that to Angie’s best friend!”

The doctor clears his throat, “Your sense of justice is admirable, but Chabashira-san has been put under watch, and only staff members can visit her for the time being. We assumed that she was under control, but our initial observation appears to be incorrect. She needs to undergo an evaluation from our psych team before anything else.”

Angie folds her arms and scowls, “But Angie has to avenge Himiko!”

Himiko chuckles at this, and smiles faintly, “I'm not out of HP yet… but thank you.”

Saihara shuffles out of the room after that. He doesn't belong in this conversation, and he knows it. 

-

The cafeteria is quiet. Maki and Kaito are playing Scrabble, while Gonta sits nearby with a dictionary. Kaede is sitting at a table nearby, furiously drawing. Saihara approaches her slowly, but she doesn’t look up from her paper. As he slides into the chair across from her, he sees that what she’s drawing is nothing more than a colourful void. She has crayons wax underneath her nails.

“Hi, Akamatsu-san,” Saihara says softly, shifting in his seat. He wonders if she can even hear him. Kaede has never been more focused in the entire time that he’s known her.

Kaede sets down her crayon, her hands quivering, “H-Hi. How’d your visit with Chabashira-san go?”

Saihara grimaces, “Really badly. What are you drawing?”

“My emotions,” Kaede replies, “What happened? Are you feeling okay?”

Behind him, Saihara hears someone place down a tile more fiercely than needed, and flinches. It takes him a moment before he can reply, “She punched Yumeno-san in the face.”

Kaede’s eyes go wide, “She did what? I thought they were friends…”

Saihara opens his mouth to speak, then stops. While friends is not even the half of it, Kaede doesn’t know that. She died before the two became romantically involved.

His stomach churns for more reasons than one.

Kaede picks up a crayon only to snap it in half. Something about her expression seems different than before. Saihara reaches out, and places his hand on top of her own.

“I guess she changed,” Saihara whispers, his voice wavering, “But we all did…”

Kaede sniffles, and rubs her eyes with her free hand, “I’m scared.”

Saihara nods sadly, “Me too, Akamatsu-san. Me too.”

-

Three days later, Saihara enters the hospital again. Tenko has been cleared by the psych team, but only for certain people. Needless to say, Himiko has been banned, not that she seems to mind very much. In fact, from what Saihara can tell, she’s more than happy to be in Angie’s company, which is good as the artist has not left Himiko’s side since the incident.

Tenko is lying on her bed, draped awkwardly over the side. Her hair is tied up in a loose ponytail, but it looks like a tangled mess. Saihara shivers a bit. He remembers when he had long hair.

“Hey, Chabashira-san,” he says carefully, “How’s your morning going?”

Tenko sits up and stares at him with hollow eyes. He takes a cautious step closer, and she gets off the bed. Standing face to face with him, she looks him up and down. She’s still a few inches shorter than him, but her presence feels large and threatening. Saihara swallows, expecting her to punch him, but she throws her arms around him instead.

“Shuuichi-kun!” she exclaims, “I’m so glad that you’re here. I was so worried that something had happened to you.”

Everything in Tenko’s sentence is wrong, from her familiarity, to her concern, to her use of personal pronouns. Saihara stares at her, but she doesn’t seem to realize that anything’s wrong.

He forces a smile, “I’m glad that you’re here too. How have you been feeling?”

“Bored,” she replies, “The doctors won’t let me out of this ugly place. That reminds me… why am I in the hospital?”

Saihara blinks a few times, “Well, your body still hasn’t fully recovered from the simulation. Until you’re fully functional, they can’t let you leave.”

Tenko raises an eyebrow, “Simulation? What’re you talking about?”

“Chabashira-san?”

She laughs, “I told you to stop being so formal with me! We’re best friends, we don’t have to act like strangers.”

Saihara feels a pit form in his stomach, “Tenko-san…” he tries the words feeling heavy and uncomfortable on his tongue. He hasn’t called her that in a very long time. During the killing game, both spoke formally to each other, and now it feels strange for Saihara to talk to her like nothing has changed.

Tenko beams, “That’s better. Go on!”

“You do remember the simulation, right?” Saihara asks.

She shakes her head, “Should I? I don’t even know what that is.”

“Season fifty-three of  _ Dangan Ronpa _ took place in a virtual reality,” Saihara says, “We were both in it.”

Tenko rolls her eyes, “Real funny, but you’re an awful liar! Why would I sign up for a reality show that could kill me?”

_ I don’t know… I don’t know why you did, or why you can’t remember. _

“How old are you?” Saihara asks suddenly, struck by something awful.

Tenko replies breezily, “Eighteen, duh. Why? Did you forget your age again?”

Saihara smiles weakly, “N-No, I didn’t.”

Tenko is eight months older than him, and he turned nineteen a month ago.

-

Besides Tenko’s inability to remember the simulation, her memories are crystal clear. She can tell him about any event that occurred when they were children. 

As for why the simulation evades her, Saihara isn't sure, though he guesses it has to do with trauma from within it. Being murdered, even inside a computer system, would likely take a toll on someone's mental health. 

Tired and defeated, he trudges back up to the rooms on the fifth floor. The long and narrow hallways feel tighter than usual, and he swallows tersely.

One of the doors up ahead opens, and out steps Kirumi. She quietly closes the door, then spots him and halts, “Good evening, Saihara-san.”

“Evening, Toujou-san,” Saihara replies, “I thought your room was at the end of the hall?”

She nods, “It is. This is Amami-san’s room.”

“He’s out of the intensive care unit?” Saihara asks.

Kirumi says, “Only as of an hour ago. He’s currently sleeping, but he’s still very volatile at the moment. With time, I hope he can recover.” Her voice is warmer than he’s ever heard in his life.

Saihara nods along, “I hope so too. I just got back from visiting Chabashira-san, and she’s-”

“I’m sorry?” Kirumi cuts him off, “I thought she wasn’t allowed visitors, because of her acts of violence?”

Saihara says, “As of today, she is. Yumeno-san wasn’t injured particularly badly.”

Kirumi raises an eyebrow, “What are you talking about? Just this morning, I spoke to Momota-san, and he told me that she had attacked him when he tried to talk to her.”

Saihara’s mouth hangs open for a moment.

“And Harukawa-san told me the same thing,” Kirumi continues, “She also tried to injure both myself and Hoshi-san.”

Saihara blinks a few times, “She was so happy to see me when I came around. She hugged me and everything…”

Kirumi frowns, “That is… peculiar. Why you, out of everyone here? No offence meant.”

“None taken,” Saihara says, “It might be because we used to be friends.”

Kirumi’s eyes widen, “Were you now?”

Saihara nods, “We lost touch shortly before I auditioned for the show. I assumed she didn’t remember me, because she didn’t say a word to me before our fake memories were implanted.”

Kirumi replies, “Perhaps she is nice to only you because she knows who you are?”

Saihara thinks of twelve year old Tenko, who was scared of strangers, and cowered behind him. He thinks of fifteen year old Tenko, who channelled her fears into violence, and attacked many a person with hand made nunchucks.

Suddenly, her aggressive behaviour isn’t surprising at all.

-

“I don’t want to see her.”

Saihara sticks out his lip the tiniest bit, “Please? You two have to talk eventually.”

Himiko tugs her hat down over her eyes, “I said that I don’t want to see her, and I meant it.”

He groans. They’ve been standing in the hallway for the past ten minutes, having the same argument, and the lights are starting to hurt his eyes. Himiko - who agreed to visit the hospital with him - is now stubborn and refusing to move.

Saihara asks, “Why don’t you? You were more than happy when she first woke up, so don’t you want to try and work things out?”

“Because I  _ love her!” _ Himiko shouts, tears welling in her eyes, “I love her and she  _ hates _ me, and I don’t want to be in a room with a shadow of the person I know!”

She breaks off, blubbering.

Saihara shuts his eyes and whispers, “Chabashira-san doesn’t hate you. She’s just frightened out of her mind. The girl that you love is still in there, and she misses you more than you could ever imagine.”

“H-How do you know?” Himiko sniffles.

Saihara pushes the door open, “I don’t.”

_ I just hope I’m right. _

Tenko lights up when she sees him, then bristles when Himiko teeters in after. Saihara nudges Himiko forwards, but the short girl seems terrified.

“Hey there, Chaba… Tenko-san,” Saihara says, “We came to see you. Do you think you’ll be out of the hospital soon?”

Tenko ignores his question, “What is  _ she _ doing here?”

Himiko tenses, and grabs onto Saihara’s arm.

Saihara forces a smile, “This is Himiko Yumeno. But you know that, Tenko-san. You know  _ her.” _

Tenko hisses, “No I don’t! Don’t do this to me, Shuuichi-kun! Don’t try and trick me into thinking I know all these people! Are you trying to get in my head?! Oh my god, you’re turning into  _ him!” _

“N-No, I’m not-”

“YOU LIAR!” Tenko screams, leaping to her feet. Saihara throws himself in front of Himiko, desperate to keep the girl from obtaining anymore Tenko related injuries.

Saihara says, “Please, Tenko-san. I’m not doing anything, I just want you-”

Tenko growls, “That’s what he always said. He always tried to trick me, because he thought I was stupid! Well, I’m not stupid! And I know that you’re  _ lying _ to me! You sick, sick  _ bastard!” _

Saihara says, “You’re not stupid, I don’t think that, and I never have. I swear on my life, I’m not lying to you-”

Tenko screams again, tears running down her face, “SHUT UP! You say that now, but you’re going to smash a beer bottle on my face and tell me how  _ worthless _ I am the  _ second _ I make a mistake! I’ve had  _ enough _ of being  _ lied to _ by  _ stupid, stupid, boys!” _

“Tenko-san!”

That’s the last thing he manages to say before her hands close around his throat.

-

“So much for the girl I love still being in there.”

Saihara grunts in response, hardly able to speak. Now he’s the one lying in a hospital bed, a cold metal collar around his neck. He’s not strapped down, but he can’t move his body anyways.

Himiko sighs, “You tried, I’ll give you that. But she didn’t want to see me as it was, and now she’s brutally attacked  _ you, _ the only person she seemed to like. So… it’s hopeless.”

Saihara opens his mouth, but his throat is too dry at this point. He settles for awkwardly twitching his finger in her direction.

Himiko rubs his shoulder sympathetically, “The real Tenko Chabashira is dead. The person in her place is just pretending.”

_ It’s who she really is. _

Either Himiko can read minds, or he managed to say that aloud, because she wails, “I know that’s who she is! But I don’t want her! I want the girl I fell in love with, and I’m never going to see her again.”

Saihara looks at her as comfortingly as he can. 

Himiko sighs, “I’m going to go tell the others what happened. I… I think I have enough MP left for that.”

With that, she leaves Saihara alone in his hospital room, silent except for the beeping of the machine that he’s strapped to.

-

Saihara dreams of sirens, fire, and screaming, and he doesn’t know if they’re fueled more by the shit that he’s lived through, or the borderline hallucinogenic drugs in his bloodstream.

-

Kaede visits him the morning after the incident. She looks distressed and disheveled, like she hasn’t slept at all. She smiles wearily at the sight of him, and whispers, “I’m glad you’re alive.”

Saihara smiles back, or at least, he hopes that he does. He can’t really feel his face at the moment.

Kaede sits down on a stool by his bed, “Yumeno-san told us what happened to you. Are you feeling okay? Ah… that’s a stupid question. You can’t even talk, can you?”

Saihara tries to shrug. The collar is gone, but he still struggles to move at all.

Kaede takes his hand, and interlaces their fingers. She stays quiet for a very long time, letting the repetitive beeping do all the talking for them.

When she finally does break the silence, she says one single sentence, enough to make Saihara realize that the sirens from his dreams were real.

“Amami-kun broke out of this place last night.”


End file.
